Lock



Sept-'9, 1.941 l. J. FLETCHER 2,255,418

y Loox Filed sept. 30,1940

Patented Sept. 9, 1941 LOCK Irving J. Fletcher, The American New Britain, Conn., assignor to Hardware Corporation, New

Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application September 30, 1940, Serial No. 359,044

(Cl. Y-215) 11 Claims.

My invention relates to the type of lock that is especially designed for use on the doors of heavy vehicles, as trucks, and particularly on such vehicles as are for the transportation of merchandise and on mail and express trucks, and an object of my invention, among others, is the construction ci a lock that shall be suiiiciently strong to resist methods commonly employed for breaking into such vehicles for the purpose of petty pilfering; and a further object of the invention is the production of a lock of this type that will not readily become disarranged but will always be in proper condition for ready operation.

One form oi a lock embodying my invention and in the construction and use of which the objects herein set out, as Well as others, may be attained is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a face view of a portion of a metal door and door jamb having my improved lock secured thereto.

Figure 2 is a view in horizontal section through the same.

Figure 3 is a View of the opposite iace of the door from that shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a View on enlarged scale in section through the lock on a plane passing through the axis of the lock cylinder, the latter, however, being shown in full.

Figure 5 is a rear view of the handle.

Figure 6 is a front view of the escutcheon.

Figure '.7 is a View on enlarged scale in section through the handle on a plane passing through the axis oi the lock cylinder, the latter, however, being shown in full.

A source of annoyance and loss frequently results from cases of petty pilfering from trucks and similar vehicles that are employed for Ythe transportation of merchandise, and especially trucks used for mail and express purposes. These are commonly constructed of metal with latch bolt operating handles of horn shape and the lock structures in common use are of such character and the connection between the handle and the latch bolt is rigid so that entrance is readily gained by breaking the lock by rotation of the handle which is thereby used as a lever to obtain the result.

These locks in addition to the latch bolt frequently embody a connection with bolts at the top and bottom edges of the door so that rotation of the spindle will not only operate the latch bolt but will also at the same time operate these top and bottom bolts. The doors in such vehicles are more or less loose, this condition arising after a comparatively short use of the vehicle, and by reason of the severe and heavy duty to which the vehicles are subjected with a result that the doors weave and shift about in the movement of the vehicle.

It is a purpose of this invention not only to provide a lock with extreme strength to successfully resist the attempts hereinbefore noted for breaking the lock but also to avoid other objectionable faults hereinbeiore described and resulting from the constant weaving and shifting of the doors as above described.

in the accompanying drawing the numeral 'I denotes a portion of a door, as of a truck or other vehicle, and Il the jamb thereof, which parts are commonly composed of metal in various forms. An opening in the edge of the door fora lock connection contains a shell 9 through which a spindle Il! from a latch bolt II extends,

the latter engaging behind a striker I2 on the door jamb or in an opening therein to secure the door in closed position, as shown in Fig. 2.

An escutcheon I3 is secured to the front face of the door in any suitable manner and has a locking lip it projecting outwardly from one edge thereof with a locking recess I5 therein for the reception of a locking bolt I6. The base of a handle to be hereinafter more particularly referred to has a locking lug Il projecting from its rear face with a hole I8 therein for the reception of saidlocking bolt, said recess I5 and hole being in alignment.

The spindle Ill extends through the escutcheon, being suitably mounted for rotation therein, and said spindle also extends through the shell SJ. A head I9 on the spindle is located on one side of the escutcheon, as shown in Fig. 4. A retaining plate 20 is secured to the rear face of the base of the handle and the lug II thereon in any suitable manner and has an opening smaller in size than the head I9 through which opening the spindle extends, the plate thereby serving to secure the spindle to the handle base.

The head I9 of the spindle extends into a recess 2l formed in the under side of the base 28 of a handle 29 that is mounted upon and secured to the escutcheon I3 for rotation thereon. The section IS of the locking bolt is located in the hole I3 in the lug I1 extending from the base 23 of the handle, as hereinbefore mentioned, said locking bolt comprising other sections now to be described. A cylinder 3| of a lock is mounted in the handle and contains a plug 32 projecting from its end, this plug being operable by a key in a manner common to locks of this type. A pin 33 on the end of the plug engages a notch in the section i6 of the locking bolt as a means for operating the latter.

The sections 23, 2li and 25 of the locking bolt, liereinbefore mentioned, together with the section it that engages within the lip in the escutcheon, extend in line through the head I9 of the spindle and through the locking lug I1. The section 23 is always contained within the head I9 of the spindle and the sections 24 and 25 are of such lengths that when the section I6 is disengaged from the lip I4 and the parts are unlocked one end of the section 23 will be flush with the edge of the head i9 adjacent the section 2Q so that the joint between the sections 23 and 2s will be located at such edge, thus permitting the spindle it to be turned by operation of the handle 29, the section 24 at this time being Wholly located in a locking lug 2l projecting from the front face of the escutcheon and the section 25 being wholly located in a recess 25 inthe handle base. In this position oi the parts the joint between the sections 24--25 is located at the edge of the lug 2l, thus permitting the handle 29 to be turned as described.

A connection between the spindle i and the top and bottom door bolts commonly employed is shown in Fig. 3 wherein said spindle is connected in any ordinary manner with the latch bolt l for operating it. Said spindle also operates a bolt actuating lever 3l' which is secured to the end of the spindle, said lever being pivotally attached at its opposite ends to bolt operating rods 33-39 extending upwardly and downwardly for attachment to the top and bottom door bolts in common use in structures of this type and as will be readily understood and for which reason a showing of the attachment of the rods to the door bolts is omitted herein. The locking lug 2| extends from the front face of the escutcheon into an arcuate recess Sli in the rear face of the handle base 22, the opposite edges of the lug contacting with edges 35-36 of the lug il, thereby affording a stop to limit the swinging movement of the handle.

The construction described herein provides an extremely eiective connection and any attempt to force the lock by shearing off the bolt with force applied to the handle will result in failure, as when the bolt is so sheared, the handle benig disconnected from the spindle when the bolt is in its locked position, shearing of the bolt will result in a turning of the handle independently of the spindle and the latch bolt H is not thereforerendered operative by turning of the handle when the lock bolt is so sheared oi. The structure shown in Fig, 7 is similar to that hereinabove described the main difference being in the structure of the locking bolt. In this structure the locking bolt iii is a single piece carried in the opening i8 in the lug l1 of the handle. This bolt engages with one end in the recess l in the locking lip hi of the escutcheon, the opposite end of the bolt engaging within a recess 4! in the spindle head lil. The bolt is operated by the plug 32 of the lock in the manner hereinbefore described.

In this form of the device when the bolt 4S is in its locked position the handle is disengaged from the head i9 of the spindle Iii with a resuit that the loose shifting back and forth of the doors of the vehicle owing to the vibration is liable to turn the spindle slightly and therefore misplace the recess 4I with respect to the bolt 4B, thereby rendering it difficult to again lock the handle. To avoid such a contingency a detent 42 is yieldingly engaged in a recess 43 in the base of the handle, a spring 44 in a recess 45 in the spindle forcing the detent into yielding contact with the handle and thereby retaining the spindle and handle always in the same relative positions.

The construction disclosed herein, as hereinbefore remarked, provides an effective means for preventing illegal access to vehicles in the manner hereinbefore related, the lock having extreme strength to resist such illegal effects, but also presenting complications to efforts to eect such method. If the bolt i6 be sheared off by force applied to the handle then the handle is disconnected from the spindle and the latch Il cannot be operated. If some means then be found for connecting the handle with the spindle, as by drilling through the handle into the spindle and driving a pin into the spindle, then the question of strength in the lock develops as both sections i and 24 of the lock bolt resist such efforts, the section iS iirst being sheared oii and then after a connection is eii'ected between the handle and the spindle, as described, then the section 24 of the boit must be sheared oi. The structure, therefore, is a most effective means for preventing pilier-ing, not only in the manner described, but also by other means.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I have described the principles of operation of my invention, together with the device which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the device shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set out.

I claim:

l. A lock including a support for a handle, said support having a locking bolt recess, a handle rotatably mounted on the support, a spindle extending through the support and into a recess in the handle, a locking lug extending from said support and having an opening therein, a locking bolt comprising a plurality of sections extending hroug'h said spindle into openings in the handle and lug on opposite sides of the spindle, means in said handle operatively connected with said locking bolt for operating it, and a door securing member operatively connected with said spindle.

2. A lock including a support for a handle, said support having a locking bolt recess, a handle rotatably mounted on the support, a spindle extending through the support and into a recess in the handle, a locking lug extending from the handle on one side of said recess therein, a lug extending from the support on the opposite side of the recess in the handle, said lugs having openingsv therethrough registering with an opening through said spindle, a locking bolt comprising a plurality of sections extending through said spindle and through openings in said lugs, means in said handle operatively connected with said locking bolt for operating it, and a door securing member operatively connected with said spindle.

3. A lock including a support for a handle, said support having a locking bolt recess, a handle rotatably mounted on the support and having a hole for a locking bolt registering with said recess, a spindle extending through the support and into a recess in the handle and having an opening therethrough registering with said hole and with said locking bolt recess, a locking bolt located in' saidv hole and adapted to enter said locking bolt recess and said opening, means carried by the handle for operating said bolt, a section of a locking bolt located in said opening, a section of a locking bolt located in said support and adapted to enter said opening in the spindle, and a door securing member operatively connected with said spindle.

4. A lock including a support for a handle, said support having a locking bolt recess, a handle rotatably mounted on the support and having a hole therein, a spindle extending through the support and into a recess in the handle and having an opening therethrough, a section of a locking bolt located in the hole in the handle and adapted to enter said locking bolt recess in one position and to enter said opening in another position, means carried by the handle for operating said locking bolt, a section of a locking bolt permanently located in the opening in the spindle, a section of a locking bolt adapted to project into the opening in the spindle and movable out of an opening in said support and into said opening in said spindle, a section of a locking bolt located in an opening in the support and adapted to enter a recess in the handle, and a door securing member operatively connected with said spindle.

5. A lock including a support for a handle, a

f handle rotatably mounted on the support, a spindle extending through the support and into a recess in the handle, said support having a locking recess on one side of the spindle and an opening on the opposite side of said spindle and said handle having a hole for a locking bolt on one side of the spindle and a recess for a section of a locking bolt on the opposite side of the spindle, a locking bolt composed oi sections extending in line from the recess in the handle into the recess in the support and through the spindle and holes in thehandle and support on opposite sides of the spindle, means carried by the handle and engaged With one of said sections for operating the locking bolt, and a door securing member operatively connected with said spindle.

6. A lock including a support for a handle, said support having a locking bolt recess, a handle rotatably mounted on the support, a spindle extending through the support and into a recess in the handle and having an opening therethrough, a looking lug projecting from the handle on one side of the spindle and having an opening therethrough, a locking lug projecting from the support on the opposite side of the spindle and having an opening therethrough, said handle having a locking recess located in line with and opposite the locking recess in the support, a locking bolt comprising sections extending through both of said locking lugs and through the opening in the spindle and adapted to enter at its opposite ends into both of said locking recesses, means carried by the handle for operating said locking bolt, and a door securing member operatively connected With said spindle.

'7. A lock including a support for a handle, said support having a locking bolt recess, a handle rotatably mounted on the support, a spindle extending through the support and into a recess in the handle, a locking bolt mounted in the handle disengageable from said spindle and engageable with said support to lock the handle from turning movement, means carried by said handle for shifting said locking bolt transversely of the longitudinal axis of said spindle, and means to prevent rotation of the spindle independently of the handle when the latter is in its locked condition.

8. A lool; including a support for a handle, said support having a locking bolt recess, a handle rotatably mounted on tending through the support and into a recess in the handle, a locking bolt composed of sections mounted in the handle to engage the support to lock said support and handle together, means in the handle for operating said locking bolt, and means for preventing rotation of the spindle independently of the handle when the handle is in its locked condition.

9. A lock including a support for a handle, said support having a locking bolt recess, a handle rotatably mounted on the support, a spindle extending through the support and into a recess in the handle, a locking bolt'composed of a plurality of sections extending in line through the support, through the spindle, and through the handle and adapted to engage locking recesses in the support and handle at opposite ends of both, and means carried by the handle for operating said locking bolt, the sections of the bolt being arranged to prevent rotation of the spindle independently of the handle when the latter is in its locked condition.

10. A lock including a support for a handle, said support having a locking bolt recess, a handle rotatably mounted on the support, a spindle extending through the support and into a recess in the handle, a locking bolt mounted in the handle disengageable from said spindle and engageable with said support to lock the handle from turning movement, means carried by said handle for operating said locking bolt, and means to prevent rotation of the spindle independently of the handie when the latter is in its locked condition.

11. A lock including a support for a handle, said support having a locking bolt recess, a handle rotatably mounted on the support, a spindle extending through the support and into the recess in the handle, a locking bolt mounted in the handle disengageable from said spindle and engageable with said support to lock the handle from turning movement, means carried by the handle for operating said locking bolt, and a spring pressed detent connecting said handle and spindle to prevent turning movement of the spindle independently of the handle when the handle is in its locked condition.

IRVING J. FLETCHER.

the support, a spindle ex-` 

